Waal (river)

Waal
River
Country	Netherlands
State	Gelderland
Regions	Betuwe, Rijk van Nijmegen, Land van Maas en Waal, Land van Altena
Tributaries
- right	Linge
Cities	Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel, Gorinchem
Source	River Rhine
- location	Millingen aan de Rijn, Gelderland, Netherlands
Mouth	River Boven Merwede
- location	Gorinchem, Gelderland/South Holland, Netherlands
Length	80 km (50 mi)
Discharge
- average	1,500 m3/s (52,972 cu ft/s)
Location of river Waal in dark blue.

The Waal or Rivier Waal ("Waal River") is the main distributary branch of river Rhine flowing through the Netherlands. Approximately 80 km (50 mi), it is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afgedamde Maas near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. Along its length, Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel and Gorinchem are towns of importance with direct access to the river.

The river, which is the main channel in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta system, carries 65% of the total flow of the Rhine.

In 1915, a perfectly preserved iron and bronze Roman cavalry helmet, known as the Nijmegen Helmet, was uncovered on the left bank of the Waal in Nijmegen.

The name Waal, in Roman times called Vacalis, Vahalis or Valis, later Vahal, is of Germanic origin and is named after the many meanders in the river (Old Germanic: wôh = crooked). It is, in turn, thought to have inspired early Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley region in New York to name the Wallkill River after it (Waalkil = "Waal Creek").

The current river shows little signs of these great bends, since the river has been the subject of numerous normalisation projects carried out in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries to improve the river as an economically important shipping route. Some of the cut-off bends are still visible near the main river and are sometimes reconnected to it in times of high water levels.